Analysis of the current status and influencing factors of cross-regional hospitalization services utilization by basic medical insurance participants in China - taking a central province as an example

• Published in: Frontiers in public health 2023-12, Vol.11, p.1246982-1246982
• Main Authors: Song, Tianyu, Ma, Rongfei, Zhang, Xiange, Lv, Bangliang, Li, Zihang, Guo, Mengzi, Yuan, Min, Tang, Zhiru
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: actual reimbursement rate; basic medical insurance; China; cross-regional hospitalization; Delivery of Health Care; exploratory factor analysis; Facilities and Services Utilization; Hospitalization; hospitalization expense; Humans; Insurance, Health; Public Health
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1246982

The geographically uneven distribution of healthcare resources has resulted in a dramatic increase of cross-regional hospitalization services in China. The over-use of cross-regional hospitalization services may hinder the utilization and improvement of local hospitalization services. It is of great practical significance to study the utilization of cross-regional hospitalization services and its influencing factors in order to effectively allocate medical resources and guide patients to seek medical treatment rationally. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the current situation and influencing factors of the utilization of cross-regional hospitalization services by patients insured by basic medical insurance in China. A total of 3,291 cross-provincial inpatients were randomly selected in a central province of China in 2020. The level of medical institutions, hospitalization expenses and actual reimbursement rate were selected as indicators of hospitalization service utilization. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the dimensionality of influencing factors and reduce the number of variables, and binomial logistic regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis to explore the influencing factors of the utilization of cross-regional hospitalization services. The proportion of cross-provincial inpatients choosing tertiary hospitals was the highest with average hospitalization expenses of 24,662 yuan and an actual reimbursement rate of 51.0% on average. Patients insured by Urban Employees' Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) were more frequently (92.9% vs. 88.5%) to choose tertiary hospitals than those insured by Urban and Rural Residents' Basic Medical Insurance (URRBMI), and their average hospitalization expenses (30,727 yuan) and actual reimbursement rate (68.2%) were relatively higher (